Another bright and early day had us up and out of the hotel by 6:30am. As the bags were loaded under the bus, the excitement of a new adventure washed over us as we slowly woke up. On the way to the Quito airport, we picked up 8 new friends: Melissa, Gina, Cathryn, Jordan, Meredith, Molly, Kevin, and Mara. After arriving at UIO, we welcomed our new friends with open arms and did some brief introductions! With our small army of 21 strong, we stood around waiting in the middle of the Quito airport for Esteban to grab our boarding passes. I decided that I would take today to focus on gorging myself on as much food as possible to refuel after the many wild adventures on the mainland as we set out for the Galapagos Islands!
For the flight from Quito to Guayaquil, I sat next to Elliot who immediately pulled out his Nintendo Switch to play Mario Kart. The battery died before we got off of the ground, go figure… We still managed to have a good flight by drinking some smuggled rum which our tour leader told us the night before would not be an issue bringing on the flight. Little did we know it was an issue and the flight attendant asked me to put it away thus brandishing themself as a “vibe killer”. We didn’t like those kind of vibes so we snuck a few more sips in during the flight! The hour-long descent from Quito down to Guayaquil was steep with an altitude change of over 9000 ft!!
At the Guayaquil airport, we waited around snacking on gummies, chips, and ice cream from the mini mart next to our gate. The flight from GYE to GPS (Isle Of Baltra) started with an engaging and entertaining infomercial about the Galapagos and what to expect while we were there. The flight was 2 hours long but definitely felt much, much shorter! As we deplaned on the tarmac, we were welcomed by the blistering sun shining down from overhead! I could barely open my eyes and my sunglasses were packed snugly away in my suitcase…
We grabbed our suitcases and walked a little ways over to the pier where we took a brief 10min ferry over to Isla Santa Cruz, our first ferry ride among the islands of Galapagos! We all crammed into a bus to take us to Puerto Ayora on the opposite side of the island where we had a much needed included lunch at a local restaurant. We were all starving and I decided to be bold and order two meals. When my two burgers arrived, the entire group stared at the two towering mounds on my plate. Realizing I may have just made a huge mistake since we only had 15min before we had to hop back on the bus, I started giving away food. It felt good to play the role of Oprah: “you get some onions”, “you get some lettuce”, “you get some tomatoes”, “everybody gets some fries”!! After giving away about 60% of plate, I inhaled my two burgers and we were off!
A very brief bus ride brought us to the pier where we would take a 2hr ferry over to Isla Isabela, the seahorse shaped island! The ferry ride started off slow and sunny. The back of the boat seats filled in quick while the rest of us had to sit inside. The captain then had to assign our seats to provide an optimal balance of the boat so it wouldn’t tip over once we hit the sea waves! It wasn’t long before the clouds rolled in and the skies turned dark. About halfway through the ride, the constant rocking of the boat had nearly sapped the energy of most of our group. Those sitting outside were cold, wet, and huddled under blankets for warmth. Fortunately for those of us who were forced to sit inside, we had alcohol!! Brian, David, Erica, Esteban Alicia, and myself each took a shot of rum. Even Cristian, our Galapagos tour guide joined in for a drink! The rest of the ride was smooth sailing, at least for those of us on the inside. I can’t even imagine how Nigel, Aliya, and Elliot were faring up top…
When we arrived at Isla Isabela, we all staggered off the boat and made our way to Hotel Iguana to freshen up before dinner. I opened my suitcase for the first time since leaving Quito only to find my animal crackers were everywhere! It was a bloodbath and only a select few survived the onslaught!
Dinner was at a local shawarma place where we were seated on a second floor rooftop overlooking the streets of Puerto Villamil. While waiting for our food, Gina regaled us with the tale of how some special mushrooms changed her life forever! It was a unique story for sure and it was timed perfectly with the arrival of our meals. After scarfing down my two burgers from earlier, chicken and rice (the staple I was getting quite accustomed to in Latin America) was a welcome dish. This was the first restaurant where we were served blackberry juice and oh my god was I hooked after the first sip! I would ask for this at every restaurant for the rest of the trip. After dinner, we were all given a complimentary slice of banana bread before we walked back to the hotel.
The night was still young, being only 10:00pm. Melissa, Nigel, Aliya, Alicia, Brian, Elliot, Sara, Cristiana, and myself went to the rooftop of our hotel to play King’s Cup. Even our tour leader Esteban decided to join in! Never having played King’s Cup before, I was not sure what to expect other than ending up drunk by the end. And by the end that’s exactly what happened. Although, that may be more from me sipping whiskey while everyone else had beer… coulda been anything though! It was a fun night for sure!
No Regrets: The Only Way To Live 